REVIEW: ANYTHING GOES: The Best It Can Be

Anything Goes is the show that every company in the world has staged or will stage during their time. It's constantly put on by High Schools. Amateur companies. It's been revived. It's referenced and parodied in modern day pop culture. Family Guy. Summer Heights High and now, The Court Theatre in Christchurch is staging their concept of one of the 'greatest musical comedies of all time' to what can be described as the best it can possibly be.

Over the summer months throughout the years the Court audiences have been taken on journeys to the sleazy yet sexy nightclub of La Cage Aux Folles, the behind the scenes chaos of a show in and show in a show in The Producers, and the streets of New York with Guys and Dolls, just to name a few. So right off the bat Anything Goes has big shoes to fill which it doesn't quite do. It is however still a good night out, it is still put together with excellent production values such as lighting, the performances that are turned on by the cast are stellar and of course Sandra Rasmussen and Richard Marrett have dug deep to make it work.

As always Sandra Rasmussen has surprises in store for her audiences and this show is no different. Her opening sequence of singing, stormy weather, bleak outlook and frozen statuettes is stylish, simple and effective. She knows what audiences want and she constantly delivers. There is no denying that what she excels at is traffic on stage and demanding the best from her actors. In the opening twenty minutes there is a barrage of entrances and exits, characters are quickly established and the tap number haven't even been introduced in full force it is however a bit slow and hard to watch and believe, this is not the fault of the actors or directors, but the fault of the script. Act one does take a while to get going but as we start to head on the straight to interval things get amped up to a total frenzy and the energy doesn't slow from there. The Act one finale is the type of finale that a person who hates musicals or any type of dancing would also smile at, it is an epic ten minutes of tapping, singing and flashes of light and colour but the most wonderful thing about it is the fact the entire cast are clearly having a blast doing it.

Act Two literally flies by, it is quicker, funnier and slicker than its counterpart. It also shows off the real talents of the cast. Jude Gibson starts us off in act two with a powerful Blow Gabriel Blow which includes the entire cast confessing their sins, band watching, multiple lifts and is that even a cast member playing a trumpet? She has more energy that some of the cast members half her age which is a tribute to her and her constant spot on performance. Steven Ray as Moonface and Roy Snow as Billy play off each other and their timing and presence on the stage is a real gem. They are supported whole heatedly by Alistair Browning and Hannah Wheeler and lets face it any type of stereotyping in this type of show is funny and Kyle Cheun and Jason Te Mete live and lap up the role of the two Chinese converts. Even the company of sailors, passengers and cleaners is a riot.

Act Two however belongs to Jonathan Martin and Amy Straker. Miss Straker does a particularly gorgeous 'Body Beware' and is the highlight of the show in many places and as always was a pleasure to watch on the stage while Mr Martin does a Hysterical 'Gypsy in me' as well as just having a grace and certain style on the stage that he has come to create. Both of these actors getting massive applause and kudos from the audience. There are a few Special mentions which must be given. Lynda Milligan and Claire Dougan who not only play their parts superbly but have the added challenge of a live, energetic potentially scene stealing pooch and Markus Hoetjes, Rutene Blake Spooner, James Buchanan, Torum Heng, Simon Goudie, Torum Heng, Anna Meaclem, Nic Kyle, Kyle Cheun and Jason Te Mete who are the stand-outs when it comes to the tap routines often doing the more complicated steps with such ease.

Production values are high in places and are somewhat lacking in others. Brendan Albrey has created a beautiful lighting design which is a credit to his creative mind and the team he has worked with. Having amazing centre seats on opening night was a real treat as it became clear that this man takes his work seriously with an almost symmetrical lighting rig beams of light lit faces and body parts with style. However amongst all the great things I did have a disappointment, the set. After years of having things open, flip, twist, unlatch and generally having the set be a character of its own this didn't live up to the high standards that there usually are, then again it is Anything Goes and how many times can a ship funnel coming on be exciting? And maybe I have just become to spoilt with fanciness at this time of year from The Court Theatre musicals. In conjunction with the set I also found that the actors with the costume colour choice and textures blended into the set at times which became difficult to watch.

Minor niggles and they are just that aside the show does fly by, the audience are hardly given a chance to show their appreciation through out however on opening night they gave a rapturous applause at the end. In a world of doom and gloom and *fingers crossed* the end of a recession Anything Goes is a good night out where you get to sit back and be whole heatedly entertained by the silly, wacky and tip-tapping-tapping perfection.

Anything Goes runs from 21 November 2009 - 13 February 2010. Performances times are 6pm Monday & Thursday; 7:30pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday (no show Sundays).
Tickets: Adults $52, Senior Citizens $44, Tertiary Students $32, School Children $25, Group discount (20+) $42. Bookings: The Court Theatre, 20 Worcester Boulevard; 963 0870 or www.courttheatre.org.nz 

Cast: Jude Gibson, Roy Snow, Hannah Wheeler, Jonathan Martin, Steven Ray, Alistair Browning, Amy Straker, Lynda Milligan, Kyle Cheun, Jason Te Mete, Nic Kyle, Claire Dougan, Simon Goudie, Torum Heng, Anna Meaclem, Rutene Blake Spooner, Marcus Hoetjes, and James Buchanan.

 

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